


Here

by K_Lionheart



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aaaanyway, Angst, BH6 AU, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, but where Allura is the robot..., i'm laughing too hard at the idea but trust me, it's pretty angsty, slight romance but it isn't the focus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-03-28 12:40:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13904229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/K_Lionheart/pseuds/K_Lionheart
Summary: The A.I known as "the Artificial Logistics Liason Utility and Reactive Amenity" (ALLURA) was possibly one of the greatest projects Keith has ever seen Shiro complete. She was designed and outfitted to represent the ideal diplomatic agent throughout the galaxy. But diplomacy isn't strong enough to save someone from an explosion... and in the search for revenge, Keith finds an unlikely reminder within Allura herself... and perhaps the strength to do what he hadn't been able to before everything went terribly wrong.





	Here

**Author's Note:**

> don't mind me, just cleaning out the plot bunnies under my bed.

"It's...uh..."

"She."

"... _She's_ really something, Shiro."

 _She_ was an android. Roughly a little shorter than Keith stood and for all the teasing Keith had given Shiro up until this reveal... she looked incredibly lifelike. Her skin—artificially made but surprisingly supple looking—was deeply tanned, the color of deep mocha. She had long white hair that curled and fluffed behind her almost wildly, but it made her look ethereal. Her body was covered in a simple skin-tight white suit that stopped at her wrists but served as protective boots for her feet.

Her posture was simple; hands placed delicately over one another and above her lap. Her chin was lowered and her eyes were closed. Despite the realistic features, there was a distinctive tension in her joints that could only be attributed to mechanics than anything organic. Keith, cocked his head as he took it all in.

 _Something_ didn't seem to cut it and that was putting it mildly. Keith placed his hands on his hips, looking at the android's exoskeleton's designs with an arched brow. He took a step closer, eyes honing down at the machine's fine detailing before pausing. He glanced up to where Shiro stood, arms crossed and looking awfully pleased with himself by his workstation.

"Is it cool if I..." he asked, pointedly looking at the robot.

"Go right ahead," Shiro said, beaming. "You  _can_ actually touch her if you want."

"Right," Keith said and took another step closer before reaching down to grab the android's hand. He dropped it immediately, stepping backward in surprise. He shot Shiro a shocked expression. Shiro's smile morphed into a smirk. A disbelieving smile started on Keith's lips before taking over the rest of his body. "No way..."

"Way," Shiro replied, a shit-eating grin spread across his cheeks and eyes.

Keith reached back down and grabbed the android's hand once more. It was light and soft, the artificial skin feeling as natural as his own. He spread his fingers around hers, twisting the fingers this way and that. "Huh. I was half-expecting neoprene," he teased. "Is this elastic silicone?"

"Exactly a centimeter thick, plus 0.2 millimeters of firm urethane," Shiro said confidently, approaching with his hands in his pockets. "She feels just like a regular person. Pidge helped me engineer the program for all of her mannerisms, and Hunk made sure she was nearly indestructible."

Keith moved his observations further up the android's hand and arm. His fingers pinched at the joints, rotating the arm back and forth and feeling around for the carbon fiber material fortifying the titanium machinery. He dropped the arm when he got to the neck, it landed limply by the android's thigh. He shot Shiro another look, asking for permission. Shiro nodded warmly. Keith closed the distance between himself and the robot. He turned the head between his fingers gently as he studied the finer details of her face.

"You even gave her eyebrows and eyelashes," Keith said, running a tentative thumb over the gentle strands of her closed eyelids.

"Fireproof and water-resistant," Shiro supplied.

"Are you planning on dying them?" Keith asked as he ran his fingers through the soft polyfilament strands of the android's hair.

"Nah, I like the way they look," Shiro said. "It makes her look unique. Naturally, once she passes and the patents get stamped, she'll be customizable per demand."

There was an artistic beauty to her design, Keith admitted to himself. The previous stiffness he had noticed that was almost mannequin seemed to disappear the more he let his fingers maneuver through the android's figure. With every poke and prod, Keith found himself revealing little layers of love and affection, poured into every curve and edge of her figure. A part of him found himself wildly doubting this was all Shiro's creation.

"Where did you get this design?" Keith asked, pausing to glance up at Shiro while he held the android's jaw in his hands softly. "There's no way you did this on your own."

Shiro laughed, lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck, "That, I'll admit. The idea came to me when I found these blueprints. They'd been made by a scientist and engineer only known as K. Alfor Vi Altea. Apparently, the likeness is in honor of his deceased daughter. I couldn't, for the life or heart of me, change any of the designs. She's honestly... perfect. All I did was improve material requirements and redid the programming to fit a grander scheme. Also, a lot of the blueprints were super incomplete... so there's that too..."

Shiro's eyes took on a passionate look as he got closer. Keith dropped his hands to give him some space between him and the android. Keith was suddenly left breathless as he watched Shiro raise a hand and run a thumb over the android's chin.

"She's going to help a lot of people soon..." Shiro said.

Keith stared for a moment as a silence suddenly filled the room. His eyes flicked back and forth between Shiro's gaze directed at the Android and the android herself.

"Uh..." Keith said. Whatever spell had possessed Shiro suddenly broke and he looked back at Keith in surprise. Keith grinned, "Should I leave you two alone or..." 

Shiro snorted, reaching over and whapping Keith on his shoulder. Keith snickered as Shiro walked past him toward the desk on the opposite side of the illuminated space. He came back with a cyan colored hard drive. Keith spotted the white label on its surface, proudly announcing Shiro's name in black permanent marker.

"Check this out," Shiro said as he brought Keith back around to the front of the robot. Shiro pressed two fingers into the android's sternum. The skin parted to reveal the mouth of a port where Shiro pressed the drive into. With a gentle whirr, the disk disappeared behind the slit of skin. The sound of soft gears spinning within the android's chest began and suddenly, the eyelids fluttered open.

Keith gasped softly, surprised to find blue eyes and pink irises peering back at him.

"Hello," the Android spoke, lips parting in a natural smile and a warm gaze. Keith crossed his arms, impressed. "I am the Artificial Logistics Liason Utility and Reactive Amenity otherwise known as ALLURA."

"An English accent?" Keith glanced at him slyly. "So, you do have a type."

Shiro whapped him on the shoulder again, but Keith smirked when he caught the slightest hint of a blush on Shiro's cheeks. "Shut up."

Allura continued as if uninterrupted, but when her eyes blinked directly into Keith's gaze, something inside him became very still. "I can speak over 300 languages and come processed with emergency medical aid, emergency first reaction, as well as high-class de-escalation techniques. I am bullet-proof and fireproof and can withstand over six hundred megatons of pressure. I am outfitted with several hundred intergalactic dossiers detailing over twenty thousand laws and diplomatic agreements. Should you need domestic assistance, I am also capable of cooking, cleaning, mending clothing, and other miscellaneous skillsets. What can I do for you today?"

"Allura," Shiro spoke. Keith blinked, feeling slightly dazed after she broke eye contact to look at Shiro. "Keith and I were having a dispute and we'd like your assistance to find a common solution to our problem."

"I would be delighted to be of assistance, Shiro." Allura gave a small bow of her head and placed a hand on her chest.

"Great!" Shiro said and took a step forward to stand between the two of them. "Keith is of the impression that attending school is unnecessary—" Keith's jaw dropped. "—since most people no longer need degrees in order to find suitable jobs—"

"—Which we don't," Keith interjected, shaking off the surprise that he was bringing up this discussion here and now. Suddenly, the novelty of this new machine didn't quite so seem as fun as it appeared more like a setup. Keith's eyebrows had morphed into a scowl when Shiro shot him a pleading look, asking him to play along. "I don't care what the robot says, Shiro. I'm not applying to your dumb nerd school."

"Come on," Shiro sighed. "Humor me a little? This doesn't have to change your mind or anything. Think of it as just a test for Allura. I want her to experience problem solving for actual discussions and not just the stuff I've fed her from the internet so... please?"

"Dude, no," Keith began to push away, moving toward's the exit. "You can feed her shit from Reddit if you're so desperate."

"Keith," Shiro quickly reached out and grabbed him by the wrist. Keith stopped before glancing up to meet Shiro's gaze. "...Please?"

Keith glared for another long moment but caved when Shiro blinked those weaponized puppy-dog eyes of his. Neither paid Allura attention enough to notice she was watching the exchange with a calculating expression. Keith heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes, body drooping in exaggerated exasperation. Finally, he nodded before straightening up. 

"Fine," Keith said. Shiro grinned and gave him a soft squeeze before walking around Allura to watch the exchange. Allura was staring up at him with big blue eyes, passive yet receptive. Keith crossed his arms again. "Alright, he gave you the gist of the argument. What do you have to say?"

Allura placed her palms in front of her lap, crossing them daintily as she fixed Keith her attention. Not for the first time, Keith experienced a rush of goosebumps over his body beneath her stare. He didn't back down though, more curious than disturbed by her sharp focus.

"Before I supply my understanding," Allura began, voice taking on a careful tone. "May I gather more information about your stance on the subject?"

Keith shrugged, opting to find a corner of the nearest desk to sit on. "Shoot."

"Are you against public education?"

"Not really," Keith said, reaching back and grabbing the stress ball Shiro keeps on his desk. He rolled it between his palms, "I'm cool with it."

"And your stance on secondary education is similar?"

"If people wanna spend more time and money on stuff they can learn on the internet, then sure."

"What is your relationship with Shiro?"

Keith fumbled with the ball in surprise. He blinked into Allura's expecting gaze before glancing over at Shiro with a flat expression. Shiro pressed his palms in another pleading gesture. Keith gave a slow sigh.

"We're friends," he said finally. "Best friends. Some would argue we're like brothers. I've known him almost my entire life... he's important to me."

Shiro smiled warmly at that but remained silent.

"But you are not, in fact, related?" Allura asked.

Keith shook his head and internally shrugged. Why not. It's not like she's an actual person and the only other person in the room knows their relationship first hand. "No. Shiro helped me out back when my dad died and my mom disappeared. But just because he's been _like_ a brother to me doesn't mean he should try to dictate how I live my life."

The comment seemed to cut straight to Shiro who drew in a sharp breath. Allura tilted her chin, having heard the response before she glanced over her shoulder at Shiro, who was looking at the floor, somewhat abashed. Keith crossed his arms again and waited.

"I believe I understand now," Allura said after a short silence. "I believe this is a situation I cannot solve with pragmatism alone."

Keith cocked his head, curious. "Oh?"

Allura nodded.

"This is a matter the two of you must communicate with each other."

Keith snorted softly, "Well, Shiro, looks like your robot's a flop. If she can't solve this problem then your project's doomed."

"However," Allura continued. "I would like to ask you if Shiro is not then a brother or father figure, would you consider him to be a mentor?"

Both Shiro and Keith blinked in surprise, glancing at one another. Keith lowered his arms as he appraised Allura, who waited patiently for his response. "...Yeah, I guess."

"Would you say he has been able to provide much-needed connection to ensure you were able to graduate with honors, despite your disciplinary issue from the Garrison?"

Keith visibly reeled at the comment, "Well, yeah... how did you...?"

"I have extensive access to public records easily accessible from the city's public mainframe," Allura said, lifting a hand. From her palm, a projecting light appeared showing a holographic screen that scrolled and pulled up information Keith had only seen when he had looked up his own information. A picture of his face appeared among the many floating documents that filtered through the screen before disappearing. "Given this brief background search, would it be wrong for me to assume that you owe much of your success to Shiro's dedication as a physical guide and emotional outlet?"

Keith shifted uncomfortably, but couldn't shake away from the focused look in the android's gaze. "It wouldn't."

"In this case, I believe the answer is entirely in your hands." Allura's palm lit up once more, showing various different charts that seemed to measure around his picture, like a web. "You are a product of care and devotion, only capable of achieving your best potential precisely because you had the nurturing factor of a physical hand to guide you. While you may thrive under more precise pressures than most people, you have shown higher aptitudes when you have been taught by a person of whom you carry high esteem for. There are multitudes of teachers and professors who can apply a similar guiding force to your pursuit of knowledge should you proceed with secondary education."

"Allura, thank you," Shiro spoke suddenly, walking around her to interject himself between her and Keith. Allura paused, the holographic lights from her palms disappeared and the charts vanished with a flash.

"You are most welcome, Shiro," Allura said, smiling widely before resuming her initial stance.

Shiro rubbed the back of his neck, before turning around to look at Keith. "Sorry about that... I guess I still need to have Pidge look over her programming to lessen some of the aggression. Once she gets started... y'know..."

Keith watched as Shiro muttered to something under his breath and hurried to his desk to grab his phone.

"She wasn't wrong though," Keith said suddenly. Shiro froze before glancing over his shoulder curiously. "I really do owe you a lot... I wouldn't be here if it weren't for your efforts and... for sticking with me all this time."

A silence filled the space for a short moment and Shiro turned to face him. "Keith..."

"This still doesn't mean I want to apply to your school," Keith said quickly, his fingers drummed on the stress ball. "I just...I guess... I didn't realize how selfish I was when you offered. I mean, most people would probably kill to get the chance and I sorta just went and blew it off without even saying thanks..."

Shiro drew in a breath as he tugged his thumbs into his pants' pockets. "I...I don't want you to think I planned this. I honestly had no idea what Allura would say. I really did just want to see how she would approach the issue. ...and I don't think you're being selfish... Keith, you are free to live however you want so long as you find something that makes you happy. That's all I ever want for you. I am sorry if I've been really pushy about this. I guess I was focusing too much on what you're capable of that I didn't think to even ask you if this was what you wanted. If you want to keep racing or bot-fighting, or whatever it is people our age are supposed to do these days to have fun, then I say you go for it."

Keith stared up at Shiro, surprised. "You mean that?"

"Yeah," Shiro grinned. "And if you ever change your mind and decide that this place is worth giving a shot, well, I'd be all for that, too."

Keith's lips quirked in a small smile before he pushed himself off the desk. "Honestly, I think that was the only time we actually talked about it without biting each other's heads off."

Shiro gave a small huff of laughter, "Yeah, I guess so."

"Your robot did pretty good," Keith said and tossed the stress ball in Allura's direction. Instead of catching it, the ball just soared until it bounced off her shoulder with a soft _thwap._ Shiro and Keith stared at her for a moment before one of her hands shot up in a catching gesture. "...Motor reflexes could use a little tinkering, though."

Shiro let out a huff before throwing his head back in a hearty laugh. Allura glanced between the two of them as they shared a laugh. Keith glanced at her just as he witnessed a beautiful smile break through her face. He had to admit, for all the amount of teasing he did to Shiro, he sure knew how to add a special, golden touch to everything he made. It made sense that Allura would be no exception to the rule.

* * *

_Takashi Shirogane was gone._

The explosion of the laboratory had taken everyone by surprise and despite all the brilliance of the technology presented at the fair, nothing was able to save him where it counted. In the rush to escape, Keith had failed to look over his shoulder when Shiro had taken a different turn in the hurry to get Allura out of the burning building. All he heard was Shiro shouting, crying out something about how Allura would be able to help save people from the fire before help arrived. Keith was yanked by the mob, pushed out of the double doors as he cried and reached over panicking people. He'd fallen at one point, tripped over someone or something when he felt his head collide hard against the ground and that was all he could recall before he was pushing himself to his elbows.

The building was swallowed in flames and Keith could only cry out when a large explosion in the second level blew all the windows apart. It was moments later when he saw a slim figure running from within the mouth of the fire, hair and synthetic clothing billowing by the rush of flames and smoke. Keith nearly wept when he recognized the figure as Shiro's android, carrying the figure of someone Keith had thought was Shiro but ended up being two other people.

Shiro's android had saved two people that day... but Shiro had disappeared. When the flames had gone... so had hope that Shiro would ever be found.

After the funeral, after all the waiting and avoiding Shiro's group of friends, Keith had closed himself off from the rest of the world, ignoring worried calls and well-meaning invitations for a night out. 

Until one day, a month after the accident, Keith opened his door to a large package roughly as tall as he was. Confused, he glanced around, trying to find a source of a prank or something. But the label was addressed to him, but it was from the University. Keith dragged the box in after some heavy lifting and when he was done, he prowled around it, trying to figure out what it was before he opened it.

He tugged his knife from his pocket, thumbing the symbol on its base before he dragged the blade through the box's seams. The cardboard gave easily to steel and before long it fell apart to expose the single stand and surrounding plastic casing that revealed the face of the android, Allura.

Keith sucked in a breath through his teeth, abruptly assaulted by a barrage of emotions he had worked hard to shove under a numb slate. For a moment, Keith just stared at the android's face, looking as though it were asleep rather than turned off. The soot and damage from the fire hadn't been seen to properly, he could see streaks of black marring parts of her cheeks and hair. Nothing of the material looked damaged by the fire. Before he could properly think, Keith had placed a hand on the plastic surface over her face. He remembered having touched her face, studied it with immense curiosity while Shiro stood by, beaming with joy.

He had been so pleased to see the culmination of his months of work and design. Now all that remained of his passion... all that remained of  _Shiro..._  was the very creation he had left behind...

Keith dropped his hand from the plastic, heart squeezing painfully. A new wave of agony crashed over him, threatening to buckle his knees and leave him weeping again. He knew immediately he wanted nothing to do with the damn thing.

Gathering as much composure as he could handle within a fist, Keith snatched up his phone from his work desk and immediately phoned the university. He tore his gaze away from Allura's encased body, controlling his breathing as best he could even while he scrunched up his face in focus.

Finally, the line clicked and he heard a familiar secretary's voice greet him cheerily.

"Altea Tech, Professor Coran Smythe's office."

"Nyma, it's Keith," he managed through a tight throat. "I need to speak with the professor."

"Oh, hi, Keith," Nyma's voice became soft with sympathy. Unbeknownst to him, a soft light burst from within the case that contained the android. The plastic suddenly slid out of the way as Allura's body activated. "I'm sorry to say but he's not in right now. He was called to a meeting and won't be back until tomorrow."

"Maybe he told you then. Is there a reason why Shiro's robot is in my apartment?" Keith asked through clenched teeth.

"Robot?" Nyma asked confused.

"Yes," Keith stressed, beginning to pace. "Shiro's robot. His project, the—the android he was working on. You know, the pretty one?"

"Oh, yes!" Nyma exclaimed. "That's very odd. I don't recall the Professor saying anything about having that delivered to you. In the event of a student's death, much of the projects done are offered to the family to keep as a memento, otherwise, they are seized by the university."

"Well, send someone to come seize it," Keith said, dragging frustrated fingers through his scalp. "I don't want it here."

"I'm afraid that'll be something you need to speak to with the superintendent of Shiro's department," Nyma said. Keith whirled around, eyes fixed in some random point of the room before his attention fell on Allura. He balked, nearly dropping his phone when he noticed she was standing in front of his window, seemingly staring at the view outside. "Professor Coran only oversaw the laboratory usage, not the projects themselves, I can get you the phone number—“

"Nyma, let me call you back," Keith sputtered swiftly before jabbing the 'end call' button with his thumb. He wasted no time, tossing the phone onto his desk as he hurriedly approached the working android.

"Hey," he called out, fists clenching at his sides as he stormed toward it. Allura turned to face him and Keith stopped mid-stride, taken aback by the lack of emotions on her face. It was so sudden that his mind oddly compared the expressionless expression to that of the one he had seen staring back at him from his mirror since Shiro's fate had been declared.

"Hello," it spoke, but it lacked the emotions he had seen her mimic the first time she had been activated. "I am the Artificial Logistics and Liason Utility and Reactive Amenity otherwise known as ALLURA. I can speak over 300 languages and—"

"Stop," Keith said, voice low. "Just... stop."

He was relieved to note that she had stopped, choosing to stare at him before cocking her chin. More mimicry.

"My apologies," she said. "I was not aware I had offended you. Please rest assured that was not my intention."

"I don't care what your intentions are," Keith said, fixing a cold stare into her lifeless eyes. "You don't belong here. You belong back at the University. Go back to your station."

Allura made no move, yet her eyes flickered over his body as if gathering information from his body language, tone, and whatever else her programming demanded her to do. "You are upset."

"I gave you an order," Keith shot back, clenching his fists tighter to keep from shaking. "Deactivate."

"I do not understand," Allura said, voice airy yet monotone. "Have I done something wrong?"

"Deactivate," Keith hissed, finally gathering the will to cross the last of the space to grab the android by the wrist. He tugged but she did not even budge despite how hard he pulled. "Go back to your station."

"I do not recall making any actions that would serve as an offense," Allura continued, pink iris shifting in size as she gazed up and down at him. "Perhaps we may be able to reach a compromise?"

"I don't want to compromise!" Keith shouted, trying to tug her back into her box. Nothing. She didn't so much as move an inch. "I want you out of my apartment and back in a crate where you belong! I don't want you here!"

"You are showing signs of elevated stress signals, due to a sudden rush of adrenaline and drop in your serotonin levels. I come equipped with relaxants that I may administer if you require them. May I administer them?"

"No!" Keith let go of her arm and attempted to push her from behind but all that did was land him a face full of smoke streaked hair. His feet slid on the floor as he pushed, making no leeway. "Just...turn off!"

"Where is Shiro?"

Keith froze mid-push, eyes widening in shock. He pushed himself away, staring at her even when she turned around to meet his gaze. "He...what...?"

"Takashi Shirogane," Allura said, crossing her palms in front of her lap. "Age; twenty-six. Born and raised in Saitama, Japan. Graduate Student at Altea Tech University—"

"I know who Shiro is," Keith cut her off brusquely.

"Where is Shiro?"

Keith could only stare before dropping his chin to his chest. He shook his head and walked back until his couch bumped against his legs and he collapsed backward onto the cushions. His head ended up resting back on the upholstery, eyes staring up at the ceiling. Allura did not ask the same question again, just stood there in his periphery... waiting.

"He's...He's not here." Keith said, voice hollow and tight against his throat. Keith cleared his throat once before closing his eyes. "He died."

"Shiro is here."

Keith's eyebrows furrowed. "No, he's not. He's gone. He died a month ago in a fire... the same fire  _you_ were supposed to save him from but failed. In the end, you couldn't even do what you were programmed to do."

"I do not understand," Allura said again. "My programming is to blame?"

"Yes," Keith said and he sat up, fixing Allura a cold stare. "Your programming is to blame."

Allura studied him with that same blank expression, flattened from lack of emotion. Without warning, she turned and began to walk away. Keith watched, hoping she finally understood his orders and that she would return to her charging station. Instead, she walked passed the dismantled cardboard and plastic, heading in the direction of the door. Keith gave a start when she arrived at the front door, opening the locks that kept it shut tight.

"H-hey!" Keith exclaimed. "Where are you going? You can't go out like that, no one knows what you are!"

Allura didn't spare him a final thought as she opened the door and exited. Keith scrambled after her, giving chase and hoping to catch her before she disappeared. But she was faster than she looked and when Keith rounded his door, she was near the end of the hallway, already heading down the stairs.

"Wait, where are you—get back here!"

But she did not listen and Keith snarled in exasperation as he tried to catch up. 

Her journey took them back to the wreckage. Keith had done all he could to stop her. He tried grabbing her but keeping hold was like holding on to water. He attempted to tie her to a bike rack, but her strength alone was enough to rip the bike rack's metal roots straight from the concrete, toppling the long row of bicycles strapped to it. He tried tripping her, but she had an unbelievable sense of balance and he even tried fighting her, but she blocked and parried his blows like swatting away a child's angry punching and kicking. All of his efforts only ended up with him gaining an uncomfortable level of public attention while she moved, undisturbed. His last attempt had been to climb on to her, hoping his weight would be enough to deter her. All it did was embarrass him when she kept walking despite him scrambling over her.

Nothing.

She just kept moving.

Keith gave up when they arrived at the site. His eyes stared at the charred remains of the building. He hadn't allowed himself to go back since the night of the accident. Seeing the once proud Exhibition hall reduced to blackened rubble was almost as sad as the memories. All that remained of them were memories of former glory and smoke-blackened concrete.

Still, Allura walked over broken bits of wall and debris, tearing through police tape like nothing. Keith tried shouting at her again but she long stopped listening to him, so he hurried after her, at the very least curious as to what she was doing.

"Allura," Keith called out after he stumbled in his attempt to catch up. "Please, knock it off. We're not supposed to be here!"

It might as well have been a wall he was yelling at for all it did. Keith jumped over a large piece of what might've been the ceiling—too large to properly get rid of yet.

When he landed he made to hurry after the Android, only to pause when he realized she had stopped suddenly.

She stood in front of an immense piece of debris, unmoving for a long moment. Keith slapped dirt from his pants as he approached her, tilting his head curiously.

Did her battery die? That can’t be. Shiro had programmed her with a special series of batteries that ran on solar power, essentially making her unable to run out of juice so long as she was allowed to charge or move somewhere brightly lit. Keith finally walked around her and found an odd expression on her face.

Did she look almost...shocked?

”Allura?”

She moved, blinking as if finally registering she was not alone. She turned to face him in measured movements, mechanical yet not without elegance.

”Forgive me,” she said suddenly, and Keith felt his chest seize at the words. “I...I believe my programming has been tampered with.”

Keith frowned, his initial surprise at her apology faded. “What do you mean?”

”My interface and settings come with several long-standing protocols I must follow.” Allura turned to face him properly. “In the event that I am needed back in the laboratory or my programming appears to need maintenance, I am to return for repairs. My system analyses allow me to give clear and decisive instructions as to what could be causing potential issues. However, the protocol that runs my major system analysis has missing pieces of code. I am unable to determine what is wrong with me.”

Keith stared at her for a moment before looking away, expression scrunching for a moment as he tried to make sense of her words.

”You’re saying someone messed with your programming?”

”Log data indicates an unauthorized log-in into my system preferences of an unknown source. Missing pieces of memory range as far as two hours of live recording as of March 16th, 2069.”

Keith’s attention piqued at that, “March 16th...that’s...that’s the day of the accident.”

Something hard and cold seized Keith by the gut, filling him with growing suspicion and furious recollection. “Hold on, if someone tampered with your system the day of the accident then...”

Then the accident was not an accident...

Keith felt his stomach wobble with surprise, his legs suddenly gave and he slid down onto a piece of rubble. For a long moment, he stared off into space, eyes flickering back and forth as he connected the dots at speeds that made it hard to catch up. He shook his head and dragged his palms into his hair.

”Allura,” he said, looking up to find her watching him. “Do you have information about the other people involved in this project? The one that made you?”

”Yes,” she said. “That information is still accessible.”

Keith stood on his feet, hands fisting at his sides.

”Show me.”

Allura lifted her hand like she had done so the first time they met. From her palm, the projector light flickered to life and Keith saw lines upon lines of code manifest into holographic documents that zoomed through information faster than he could follow. Suddenly it stopped, listing out a series of names into a thesis document.

”Takashi Shirogane,” Allura began to read. “Head project engineer. Hunk Garrett, assistant project engineer. Katie “Pidge” Holt PhD., data consultant and program engineer. Lance McClain, aesthetics designer and...”

Keith let out an impatient growl, “Yeah, yeah, I get it, you don’t have to list the entire team, just the ones with classified access to your system’s preferences.”

”Katie “Pidge” Holt. Coran H. Wimbleton Smythe, PhD., Head production supervisor. Lucius K. Zarkon, PhD., Head project advisor and superintendent.”

Keith was pacing now, stopping only when Allura finished her list. His mind was moving a million miles an hour, honing on a singular bit of knowledge. He wouldn’t be able to reach Coran anytime soon, but he had a fine idea of where Pidge would be.

”One of those people is responsible for Shiro’s death or at least knows enough about it,” Keith said to himself, he looked at Allura, his eyes narrowing certainly.

”Allura, we’re going.”

”Where are we going?”

Keith turned, glaring in the direction of the largest building on campus. If he was right about this, he would need to prepare against this new threat. For the first time in a very long time, Keith allowed himself to feel this time. This would put to good use the rage he’s dealt with on his own.

”If we’re gonna do this, then we need to make sure you work better than you did before,” Keith met her expression with a fierce look. “Time to get you some much-needed upgrades.”

* * *

 Concrete exploded with a blast of dust and bits of rock. Keith threw his arms in the air, cheering out his shock that it worked.  _It actually worked!_

"DUDE!" Keith heard over his shoulder, and he grinned when he heard the footsteps of Hunk, Lance, and Pidge hurry up beside him.

"Whoa!" Pidge exclaimed, adjusting her glasses as they stared through the settling cloud of dust. Through the smokescreen of disintegrated concrete, Allura's body stood tall and poised, hand still outstretched in a fist over the large hole that gaped through the large wall of Lance's family's backyard. Through the sunny afternoon light, rays of sunlight broke around Allura, making her appear radiant and terrifying. She turned to look at them then, expression curious.

"Uh, Lance," Hunk asked after a moment of staring dumbfounded. "Are your parents gonna be cool that she just smashed a wall in your backyard?"

"My family's loaded," Lance said offhandedly, waving a hand even as his eyes remained wide and in awe on Allura's figure just feet away. "We can get another one later."

Keith stepped over the metal wiring and pieces of rubble, his steps wide and confident as he surveyed the damage. The dust settled and sure enough, the wall had all but been decimated with just a single punch. He turned around to face Allura who had returned to a neutral position but kept her fist up near her chest. Keith spotted the issue immediately and hurried over. He gathered her hand in his, eyes honing quickly over the ruined synthetic skin, able to see the soft glowing wiring and exoskeleton easily. He bit his lip for a second and gave a nod.

"Hey, Hunk," Keith called as he ran his thumbs over Allura's gaping knuckles. "We're gonna need protective covering for her skin."

"Lemme see," Hunk said as he approached. Keith looked up to see Allura staring at him curiously, his breath hitched in his throat, something that hasn't entirely stopped even after all this time.

"You okay?" He found himself asking, reaching up to rub a smudge of dust from her cheek.

"I have experienced only minor wear and tear in this examination," Allura replied. "I am still at 100% functionality."

"Any other problems?" He asked, looking at her face carefully. "Your arm hold up okay?"

"Yes," she replied. "I am capable of withstanding over six hundred megatons of pressure. All systems and joint functions are operational."

Keith smiled and let her go once Hunk got close and the big guy began looking over Allura's hand.

"A few tweaks and we should be getting close enough to what we need," he said before looking across the yard to see Lance and Pidge staring at him with odd expressions on their faces. "What?"

Pidge snorted as she approached, closely followed by Lance who stared at him with narrow eyes and a growing grin. "You sure you aren't falling in love with your robot?" Pidge asked.

Keith shot them a flat expression, "I'm being careful. I don't want anything to happen to her. She’s all I have left of Shiro.”

"I dunno...” Lance said. “You sure seem to be awfully worried about a robot who can handle over six hundred megatons of pressure," Lance followed up with a wink.

"She's all I have left from Shiro," Keith snapped and it would've been that if not for the fact that the two of them exchanged a knowing glance.

"Is that why you're blushing?" Pidge pointed at his face, shifting her weight. Her twin pigtails fell over her shoulders as she did so. Lance grinned when Keith startled back in surprise. He fixed them both a glare before rolling his eyes. 

"Whatever," he said as he walked past them. "You guys are being ridiculous."

"Whatever you say, lover boy!"

"I'm  _not_ falling in love with Allura!! She’s a robot!" Keith shot back, and he finished storming back inside, focusing purely on the next bit of coding and programming needed to ensure the next stage in their operation. Let them think of their dumb assumptions, Keith rolled his eyes as he swung into the office chair in his makeshift workspace in Lance's massive basement room. I have a murderer to catch.

* * *

 Lucius K. Zarkon.

 _He_ was responsible.  _He_ was to blame for the accident, for the fire, for Shiro's death.  _He was to blame for everything._

The monitors blinked back at them with certain information. The culmination of their investigation stared them back in their face and all Keith could do was stumble back as they watched the very evidence that incriminated that  _bastard_ stared them back in the face. But it was more than that... It was how now, Keith could see the similar blueprints and systems that had created Allura with love become this gnarled and manipulated power system that stood before them.

"Holy shit," Lance breathed, lowering his custom-made plasma rifle, horrified as they all stared at the mechanical suit and its many prototypes standing in line behind the monitors. "Is he building an army?!"

"We need to get out of here," Pidge said quickly, "We need to get someone to see this."

" _No._ "

The group gave a start, save Allura, and turned to look at Keith. He stared at everything with a dark expression, fists clenched at his sides as he shook with furious hatred.

"Lucius Zarkon  _stole_ this information from Shiro... he stole it and killed him before Shiro could have a chance to fight back. He stole it so he could fuel project VOLTRON for his own selfish purposes and  _we_ are the ones who discovered it."

"Keith...?" Hunk said, eyes crinkled in fear and worry. "What are you saying?"

Keith took in a slow breath, "Pidge, do you know how to hack into this system?"

Pidge straightened in surprise, her suit shimmering under the odd glow of the monitors. "Well... yeah. But this stuff is  _ancient_ , there's no telling how much I can get from here."

"All we need is the main files and enough information to incriminate Lucius K. Zarkon and Galra Corp." Keith looked at Allura who stared back at him. "Can you still locate him?"

"My long-range sensors are still somewhat affected by the magnetic waves produced by the technology further within this laboratory," Allura replied. "However, I may triangulate his location given enough time."

"There's no need."

The entire team whirled around in shock, staring up into the tall and ominous shadow that hadn't been there before. In an instant, they all lifted their weapons, shaking from adrenaline and lack of experience. All but Allura stared in wide-eyed horror as the shadow approached before coming under the light of the monitors and distant electrical bulbs from within the hangar filled with suits. The man who approached was, without a doubt, Lucius K. Zarkon. His voice was undisputable despite his dark clothing and the high-tech mask covering his head.

"I must say," Zarkon said as he appraised them. "I am both impressed and grateful that you are here. Impressed, because very few people have been capable of discovering my little side project since it's been decommissioned and grateful that you were able to bring back to me the Android Allura."

Keith took a protective step in front of Allura, "It's too late, Zarkon. We know everything."

A low bubble of ominous laughter rose from within Zarkon's chest before rising to a dreadful chuckle. The others took an instinctive step backward, shivering with fear. "Everything? That's rather an ambitious claim to make, Mr. Kogane."

Keith reeled in surprise, custom-made sword slipping in his hands. Zarkon took a step forward, the lighting casting grossly frightening shadows over his darkened figure and mask. Hunk let out a tight squeak behind them and for a moment it was just this. A face-off no amount of training in Lance's backyard could've possibly prepared them for.

"You children really have only seen a small fraction of my work here, you've seen little of what I'm capable of, and so, you know  _nothing_ of my true intentions and reasons for this project. And, if it's alright with all of you, I'm going to intend to keep it that way."

"We'll leave!!" Pidge shouted, turning away from the monitors, with her hands raised. Keith spun around in shock and saw her laser-focused gauntlets deactivate as she rose them in surrender. Her eyes met his in a fraction of a second before pulling away, the fear palpable in her eyes and how her voice shook. "W-we'll go and pretend we didn't see anything."

"Yeah, we won't do anything against you!" Lance said quickly after. Keith's eyes narrowed in anger.

"What are you doing? You can't leave! We can't let him get away with this!!" Keith hissed, lifting his weapon once again.

"Keith, think about what we're doing," Hunk said quickly. "He's _Lucius K. Zarkon_. We are all in our own programs and have our scholarships and grants because of him and his company. If we do this, we could lose all we've worked for! Allura would be seized by the university if we keep pushing this. We may lose more than we have to bargain with here..."

"Your friends are pretty smart, Mr. Kogane," Zarkon's voice sounded smug. "I suggest you listen to them."

Keith looked away from them and towards Allura. The android stood impassively, her expression curious and eyes calculating as she observed the situation. Keith swallowed thickly, fingers curling tightly around the hilt of his sword and he lowered it.

"Allura," he said and her eyes honed directly over him. He felt a shiver of goosebumps overcome him that he ignored. "Was he there?"

"Please specify."

Keith's jaw set hard, "The night of the accident, was Lucius K. Zarkon there?"

Allura's eyes blinked and she looked away to appraise Zarkon's tall figure. He waited as her programming took calculations of his body and everything she is newly capable of. "Confirmed. My records indicate that Lucius K. Zarkon, CEO of Galra Corp and Technologies, was at the holding event in Altea Tech."

Keith's eyebrows sunk further down his eyes, teeth gritting together before he turned to look at Zarkon. He had made no further steps towards them and Keith met his gaze through the holes in the mask, the previous fear overtaken by a bloodcurdling and terrifying rage.

"If we're going to do this," Keith said slowly. "I have to know."

"Keith..." Pidge whispered. He ignored her.

"Did you start the fire that night?" Keith asked and he took a step towards Zarkon, unaware of how his friends flinched towards him. "Are you responsible for that night?"

"You mean the night of the accident, yes?" Zarkon questioned. The mask tilted slightly, as if in thought or consideration. Finally, his mask straightened. "Yes. I caused the accident to spark the fire. However, the plan had been to simply cause a slight disturbance. The rate the fire spread had been unprecedented."

"So you admit it," Keith said and his breathing suddenly got harsher. "You... you  _did_ start the fire. You did it so you could hijack Allura."

"If it'll get you to back off then, yes," Zarkon said. "My plan for that night was to have the building evacuated and free of disturbances. I made my way to the android's station and intended to gather all her knowledge and programming. I had barely gotten the information I needed when the fire had overtaken the main hall. I would've taken her... until the student Takashi Shirogane appeared without warning. I would've done something, but a beam from the ceiling had become unstable and fell over him. I had no choice but to leave him as the fire had spread. I noticed Allura had activated shortly after and had hoped she would be able to get him out, so I escaped. If it makes you happy, I did not intend for him to die. Does that satisfy you?"

Keith stood quiet, his eyes wide as he took in the events of that night from Zarkon's perspective. This man... this selfish  _bastard..._

"Keith, we have to go..." he heard Lance say a moment after and it suddenly snapped him back in that moment.

"You killed Shiro," Keith said and his voice was cold. "It may not have been your intention, but your actions lead to his death. Because of you... I lost the only family that ever mattered... I lost someone I loved with everything I had..."

Without warning, Keith swiftly turned on his heel and made his way towards Allura. The others watched him, stunned, as he pressed a sequence into Allura's chest. The armor around her body parted and revealed the two disks within her memory board. Shiro's cyan hard drive stood out beside Keith's red one.

"Keith," Allura spoke suddenly. "Are you removing Shiro's programming?"

"Yes, Allura," Keith replied, his expression set and focused. He pressed a button and the cyan drive ejected from its port. He snatched it away and pressed the drives back inside her chest. Allura's eyes looked at him for a moment before her stance suddenly went rigid. A bright red light burned from within her pink pupils, making her eyes suddenly focus directly on Zarkon.

"Keith," Hunk said, nervously. "This wasn't part of the plan..."

"Allura," Keith said as he stepped aside and gave Zarkon a hateful look, he then lifted his opposite hand and pointed directly at him. " _Destroy._ "

"  **Understood. Target locked.** "

"Keith!!"

Allura moved with terrifying speed, bolting through the air and swinging a fist so quickly, Zarkon barely had time to dodge. An explosion erupted from where her armored fists collided with the edge of a concrete wall. Dust spread everywhere. Zarkon let out a cry of shock, ducking and jumping out of the way as Allura turned her red lit eyes sharply towards him, every time. Zarkon's suit lit up from his thrusters and he took flight. Allura swiftly followed with her own thrusters firing up and jettisoning her towards Zarkon.

Keith rushed after, using the thrusters in his legs and jetpack to propel him after them. Concrete and electrical wiring exploded as the chase took speed through the laboratory. Keith's helmet closed with a push of a button and his visor immediately received the information from Allura's eyes. He pushed his jetpack faster as he maneuvered around immense metal beams and bursts of dust and explosions from the electrical wiring burning up.

"Keith, NO!" he heard behind him but he ignored the cries of the others. He wouldn't stop. He would  _never_ stop until Zarkon paid for what he did.

Finally, Allura had caught up to him, one of her added weapon features took place of a plasma whip that had grabbed Zarkon around the ankle and she used all her force to slam him to the ground. Keith snarled as he hurried after and caught up. Zarkon's suit released small bursts of electricity and smoke, damaged by the immense fall. Allura shot through the air like a bullet and landed with enough impact to crack the ground beneath her. Keith landed close to her as he spun his sword. The blade activated, abruptly surrounded by a thin film of white-hot plasma.

Side by side, the terrifying duo sliced at construction beams even while Zarkon scrambled away, too focused by taking down their target that they both failed to see or register the desperate attempts of the others trying to stop them.

"Keith! Keith, please!!"

"Don't do this!!"

"Keith, STOP!!"

Keith didn't listen, pushing past desperate hands and ducking under attempts to grab him. He swung his sword with all his might and strength, eyes focused on Allura's vision as they followed Zarkon's figure through walls of steel and stone.

Suddenly, something struck his back and a wave of electricity jolted through his body. Keith let out a cry as he fell to the ground roughly. The cyan hard drive flying from his grip and landing ahead. He blinked, mouth tasting like ozone as he saw Pidge shoot past him and snatch the little hard drive from the ground. He watched as Hunk and Lance took on Allura, holding her back with quick barrages while urging Zarkon to escape.

Keith felt a wave of betrayal and fury overtake him and he screamed. "No!! Allura, don't let him escape!! Destroy him!! Destroy him now!!"

He hurried to follow, but his limbs felt too tight and too loose for him to maneuver. He stumbled realizing the pain on his back must've been from Pidge tazing him with her weapon. He pressed on his jetpack to take him further and he almost made it. Zarkon had been cornered, Lance and Hunk thrown to the sides, and Keith could almost taste victory when he saw Allura lift an immense steel beam encased in concrete near the end high over her head. 

Then everything stopped.

Keith stared, wide-eyed as Allura suddenly ceased to move. The vision over his visor changed and suddenly he saw Pidge as if she were standing right below him, staring up into Allura's face, sweating and gasping with a horrified expression. Allura had glanced down and Keith saw Pidge's hands pressed firmly over the now-closed port, the cyan drive back in its original slot. The programming suddenly turned her vision back to its original settings. Keith shoved a snarl through his teeth.

"Allura," Pidge said and she swallowed, slowly removing her hands from Allura's sternum. "Please drop the beam."

Allura's eyes looked over the laboratory. Keith saw her register the alarm and adrenaline spikes through their bodies, she looked back at Pidge. The beam was let go and it crashed loudly behind her. "My apologies," Allura said, voice kind and gentle. "I did not intend to alarm you. I believe my primary programming has been tampered with."

"No!!"

"Go, get out of here!" Keith heard Lance exclaim and Keith saw as Zarkon lift a hand and fired a plasma shot through his glove. It tore through the ceiling above and faint daylight poured into the lab. Zarkon wasted no time and tore through the air, disappearing through the gaping hole in the ceiling and far from Keith's grasp.

"What are you doing?!" Keith screamed, pushing his body through the last bit of discomfort from Pidge's backhanded attack. "You're letting him get away!!"

"Keith, we did  _not_ sign up for this!" Hunk exclaimed as they approached Allura. She faced them all with her everyday blank expression, yet there was concern etched now into her features as she took in Keith's furious approach.

"We  _had_ him! We had Zarkon within our grasp and you guys just let him escape!" Keith roared as he crossed the last few yards, shaking off the last bit of shakiness from his body as he focused on getting to Allura.

"Keith, we all know how you feel," Lance said, lifting a hand toward Keith. Keith brushed him off. "Come on, buddy, don't do this. We all lost Shiro, too. We are all on your side here."

"None of you have any idea what I feel," Keith spit out scathingly as he quickly relayed information into Allura's suit's systems. He stepped behind her and pressed his hands to her waist. "If you were on my side, you wouldn't have let Zarkon get away."

"Keith, please," Pidge said, tears biting at the edges of her eyes as they reached for him. "You can't do this. Think about what you're doing. Think about Shiro, is this what he would want?"

He met their gazes with a cold expression, "Allura, fire thrusters."

"KEITH!"

The thrusters on Allura's boots burst and he watched as the others stepped back to avoid getting hit by the strength of the blast. Keith's suit matched with Allura's and the two of them rose from the ground before taking off into the sky through the hole Zarkon had left behind. He heard the others call out his name, but he didn't listen. Their suits had the capacity for short range bursts, not long-term flight like Allura's did. They would be able to find their way out, but so long as they didn't follow him, he didn't care.

The light of sunset surrounded them as they rose into the sky. Multiple system checks blinked into Keith's visor as they reached the apex of Allura's take-off. Keith clicked his tongue brutally when he spotted a malfunction in Allura's suit.

"Are your long-range sensors damaged?"

"The magnetism in the laboratory may have scattered the sensor's main settings. They will need reconfiguring." Allura's voice filtered through his helmet.

Keith inwardly kicked himself,  _Great, it's just one thing after the other._

"Allura, take us home."

"Yes, Keith."

He would need to fix these malfunctions quick if it meant finding Zarkon again. There was no way he was going to let that bastard get away with all that he's done.

* * *

 When they landed by Keith's garage, Keith wasted no time disembarking from his position behind Allura and moved in quickly. His focus was razor sharp as he approached his workspace and began to grab cables and devices needed to make the fixes.

"We need to move fast," he said as he waved a hand over his work. Holographs and motion activated sensors flickered to life. Allura stood by the entrance of the garage, watching him as he moved this way and that. "We need to fix the sensors quickly and do some minor recalibrations. Hopefully, we don't take any longer than seven minutes. Ten at most. Allura, go to your station, I need to do a quick system's analysis to make sure we don't get another mishap like that again."

He heard her footsteps follow his instructions before pausing in front of her station. "Keith..."

"What," he asked as he grabbed a tablet and began to oversee the updates remotely.

"My primary programming has been recently tampered with."

"I know," he said as he tapped the screen of the tablet, quickly okaying a few updates and system check-ups to work in the background. "I removed your primary drive."

"I see," she said. Keith's eyes scanned the tablet for additional information before hurrying towards the main station and filtering through files to locate the sensor's back-ups. He located it quickly and with a wave, transferred the data over to his tablet.

"Alright, with this we should be able to... Allura, what are you doing?" Keith stopped mid-step, confused when he saw Allura standing in front of her station. He frowned. "Get in your station, we need to fix your sensors and do the last maintenance."

"Why did you remove my primary drive?" she asked.

Keith was taken aback by the question. He stared at her for a second before lowering the tablet. "Because I had to. Get to your station."

Allura took a step forward towards him. He didn't like the look in her eyes.

"You told me to destroy Lucius K. Zarkon," Allura said. "My primary file does not allow me to permit me to harm other people unless my charge is in direct danger. Even then, my directive is to disarm and subdue."

"I know that," Keith said, voice clipped. "But that is not what I needed back then."

Allura's chin tilted and Keith drew in a sharp breath. A sudden memory of Shiro staring down at him with a look of disapproval flashed to the front of his mind.  _He tilted his chin like that too..._

"You wish for me to destroy Lucius K. Zarkon?"

"Yes—no. I...That’s not what I...” Keith forced his eyes to look away from Allura and tried to refocus. His chest ached suddenly as if the memory brought back a wave of pain he had not expected. He couldn't look at her. He couldn't let his mind take him back  _there... back to all that pain._ "Look, it doesn't matter. We need to stop him, that's the important thing."

Keith drew in a shaky breath and set the tablet down. He glanced at Allura's chest, to where the memory ports would be. Closed his eyes for a moment, nose scrunching up as he focused his energy elsewhere. Finally, he exhaled and took a few steps forward. He looked into Allura's eyes, fighting off the shiver he almost always got when she looked at him and only him. He looked away and lifted a hand to her chest and poked the sequence into her sternum. The numbers flashed in the hologram before he pressed the "GO" button. A red flash stopped him.

Keith scowled and tried again. Another flash of red. "Allura, did the memory port malfunction?"

"No," she said. "I am locking you out."

Keith looked at her with a start before shaking his head quickly, "Allura, knock it off. Stop messing around."

"Do you intend to remove my primary programming?"

"Yes," he said. Punching in sequence again, Keith bit back a snarl when another flash of red blinked back at him defyingly. Keith gripped to one of her shoulders as he punched in the sequence yet again. Red. He looked back into her eyes, feeling another surge of anger overcome him. "Allura, I'm serious. Let me in."

"I cannot allow that," she said. "I was given specific directives to avoid hacking into my primary drive files and protocols. You are attempting to remove my primary sources."

"I am giving you an order," Keith said firmly. "Open your memory port. Now."

"I cannot allow that," Allura repeated. "I was given specific directives to avoid hacking into my primary—“

"Allura!"

"—drive files and protocols. You are attempting to remove my primary—"

"Allura, I am giving you direct orders!"

"This is a direct violation of my protocols as set by Takashi Shirogane." The name hit him hard. Keith felt a surge of numbness through his body and he could feel something else rising in his chest. Something dangerous. He began punching in the sequence into her chest again, faster and faster every time the red flashed at him.

"I don't care," Keith said, voice growing tight. "We have to  _stop_ Zarkon, we have to stop him before he does this ever again and we have to stop him for  _good_. Now, for the last time, open your memory port, Allura."

"I cannot allow that. This is a direct violation of my protocols as set by Takashi Shiro—"

"TAKASHI'S GONE!!"

Keith's body shook with the force of his scream. His head fell forward and in his anger, he did not see how his fists had slammed into Allura's shoulders. She was unaffected, her body and it's entire composition capable of withstanding much more. Still, a twinge of guilt quickly followed but it disappeared within the full wave of despair that shook him. Keith made a move to straighten himself, but instead, his legs buckled beneath him and he slowly crumbled down. He was barely standing, chest tight with pain as tears welled in his eyes and clouded his vision.

"...Shiro..." he whispered through a sob, "Shiro is gone..."

"Shiro is here."

A bitter laugh bubbled through his chest and escaped him in a rough breath. His head fell until it bumped into Allura's collarbone and he found himself clinging to her shoulders to keep him from breaking down.

"He's not..." he said softly. "He's dead. He's gone and he's..."

Tears poured down his eyes, streaming down his chin and falling over Allura's chest. Keith shuddered in a sharp inhale, "He's never coming back, Allura... I lost him that night and I... I never got the chance to tell him that I loved him. That he was everything; my family, my best friend, the only one that made a difference... He tried so hard. So hard...to help me. And I..."

It was more than he had ever allowed himself to say out loud. It was more than he thought he could bear to say. His throat tightened with a sob as he broke. A soft touch on his head made him jump a little, but when he realized it was Allura who was gently stroking his hair and back, Keith fell to his knees.

Allura followed him down, kneeling in front of him as she held him. A part of him found it ridiculous; breaking down in front of a robot that couldn't truly feel empathy or understanding for his pain. She was only following the protocols installed into her system to de-escalate the situation. But for one little moment, Keith allowed himself to be held, feeling some kind of peace that even as he broke down and grieved Shiro... Shiro was somehow consoling him through the miles of code that allowed Allura to stroke his hair.

"Shiro is here."

A light flickered brightly by his face and Keith pulled away, blinking away tears as he watched in dumb amazement when a hologram was projected from Allura's wrist and palm near him. A video feed began and it reminded him of the vision he would see from Allura's eyes from his visor. It was in its early development stages so it lacked the information and charts she would see now, but that was not what took his breath away. It was seeing Shiro in front of him--in front of Allura, fidgeting with something on Allura's head, his hands out of sight.

 _"...Okay... I hope this is working..."_   _Shiro pulled away and stood in front of Allura, smiling. His eyes blink in sudden realization. "Crap, where is that—"_ The feed cuts to the next immediate video file.

  _Shiro appears again, holding a chalk slate and smiling nervously. "Alright, this_ _is Takashi Shirogane. This is test one of my main robotics and interface project." he pauses to reach down and press something over Allura's body. "Hello, Allura."_

_"Hello, I am—"  a high pitched squeal tore through the feed. Shiro dropped his slate, throwing his hands up to his ears and wincing._

_"SHIT—Stopstopstopstopstop!!" The video ends with Shiro scrambling to stop the feed, his face scrunched up in a comically stressed expression._

Keith stared, wide-eyed. Tears dribble down his cheek as he watched the next video play.

_Shiro appeared. The white tuft of his hair was slicked back over his scalp with grime and sweat. Oil and dust were scattered over his face and clothes. "Okay, this is..." Shiro heaves a sigh, rubbing his cheek and incidentally smearing oil right under his eye. "...the twelfth attempt of my main robotics and interface project. Hello, Allura."_

_"Hello, I am Allura—"  the feed cuts to Shiro ducking over Allura's swinging hand as it spun almost uncontrollably. At one point the feed started spinning as if Allura's head itself was spinning around. Shiro was screaming out commands that were hard to make out over the chaos._

Keith let out a soft snort, laughing softly under his breath when he saw Shiro's face at the end looking hilariously freaked out.

_The following feed revealed Shiro again, dressed in a black tank top and a sleeveless hoodie that hung off him and made him look just as exhausted as his face appeared. The chalk slate in his hands had numbers scratched off and rewritten._

_"Takashi Shirogane again. This is the seventy-third attempt of my robotics and interface project... thing. Ugh," Shiro rubbed at his forehead with the heel of his hand as he spoke, barely stifling a yawn near the end. He lowered the chalk slate and sighed low and deep. "...where's my coffee mug..."_

_The video cut to a lowered view as if Allura's chin had dropped loosely, showing Shiro holding a flashlight in his mouth and kneeling on the ground as he readjusted Allura's knee joint. "_ Why  _are your joints falling apart like this?? I keep making adjustments every friggin time..."_

_The video cut again and he must've fixed Allura's neck joints since the view was of the office as it had always been. Shiro sat in a chair a bit further away, face in his hands and groaning. The groaning didn't stop until the feed cut again and Shiro was standing in front of Allura. "Hello, Allura."_

_"Hello. I am Allura." Allura's voice replied. Shiro ducked behind his chalk slate. When nothing happened he peered up over it and blinked at her owlishly. When nothing happened he slowly straightened._

_"Uh... okay. Allura? I have a slight dispute I need a solution to."_

_"Of course—SHITEATER 9000 COMMANDS YOU TO KNeee—eEEL BefoRE Z OD—" a bright burst of electricity followed and the entire room was left in darkness._

_The feed cut again, Showing Shiro incredibly close to Allura's face. His face is almost inches away, and based on the position of his arms, he appeared to be holding onto Allura's face between his palms. "Okay... you've been giving me a lot of trouble... but I'm not going to give up on you. The world needs you... people need you. So I'm not going to stop until you're ready to face them head-on. Got it? ...Cool... let's do this."_

Keith released a small gasp when the feed cut to a new video, realizing he had lifted a hand toward the holographic video, stretching to where Shiro's face had been.

_The office is brightly lit up as if Shiro had pulled back the curtains to his office space. Shiro appeared quickly with his chalk slate, jumping into the feed's view and appearing excited even if the bags under his eyes were any sign of his exhaustion._

_"Alright!" Shiro heaved heavily and held up the chalk slate over his head in front of Allura's face. the numbers 130 were circled and embellished as if marking importance. "The big one three-oh! I am..." he sighed deeply, "Takashi Shirogane and this is—hopefully—the last, one of the last, attempt slash tests of my main robotics and interface experiment—er, project... uh... thing."_

Keith smiled, rubbing his cheeks from drying tears as he watched Shiro lower the chalk slate and look into the feed with immense sincerity and hope. This close, Keith could see stubble over Shiro's chin and jaw, his hair was a bit longer and growing out awkwardly over where he'd shaved it. He remembered this... how at one point, Shiro had been all but holed up in his office at the university for days and even weeks at a time... this was all after they had one of the worst fights they'd ever had... All of it fit in Keith's chest heavily as he watched Shiro draw in a hopeful breath and release it quickly.

_"Okay. Let's do this. Hello, Allura."_

_"Hello, Shiro. I am the Artificial Logistics Liason Utility and Reactive Amenity otherwise known as ALLURA." Shiro's expression became slack with surprise. "I can speak over 300 languages and come processed with emergency medical aid, emergency first reaction, as well as high-class de-escalation techniques. I am bullet-proof and fireproof and can withstand over six hundred megatons of pressure. I am outfitted with several hundred intergalactic dossiers detailing over twenty thousand laws and diplomatic agreements. Should you need domestic assistance, I am also capable of cooking, cleaning, mending clothing, and other miscellaneous skillsets. What can I do for you today?"_

_"...You work..." Shiro said dumbly._

_"Yes. I do believe my systems are operational." Shiro suddenly took a step back, struck with awe and growing build of emotion that took over him quickly._

_"You work!!" Shiro exclaimed, arms shooting up to the sky and accidentally throwing the chalk slate in the process. It landed with a crash nearby but Shiro didn't care he was suddenly letting out a loud whoop and grabbing Allura by the waist before lifting her up. The feed spun as Allura's hands grabbed on to Shiro's shoulders and his expression lit up in an ecstatic laugh. Shiro placed her back down and immediately jumped into a list of things he needed to do. "Fantastic! Yes, yesyesyesyes! You're still way too light but we don't want you to be completely immovable. We still need to upgrade your microexpressions programming but, God, you actually work!!"_

_Without warning, Shiro grabbed Allura by the face and swooped down to press a firm kiss on her lips. He pulled away before realizing what he'd done as he spun around and did a happy dance Keith had only seen once before. Finally, Shiro stopped and he whirled around to face Allura happily. There was a flush of pink exhilaration over his cheeks and just a hint of embarrassment in his eyes but he beamed like he'd finally hung the moon._

_"Okay. This is awesome. I have a lot more tinkering to do with you, but I'm just so happy. Okay, one quick check." He took a step back and composed himself quickly. "Allura, what emotional state am I currently in?"_

_"My observations show me that you have elevated heart rate and your neurotransmitters indicate high levels of dopamine and oxytocin which indicate you are experiencing a moment of profound happiness."_

_Shiro all but melted, staring directly into Allura's eyes_ and by extension, right into Keith's eyes. _"I am! I really, really am. You're so beautiful, Allura, and I can't wait for the world to see you. I can't wait for my entire world to see you. Keith's gonna love you. You're going to revolutionize the world as we know it. That's all for now. Allura, Thank you."_

The video ended, showing Shiro's happy expression, frozen as he stared into the camera. Keith smiled wide, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks as he lifted a hand to hover where Shiro's expression smiled at him. A moment later, Keith let his hand push past the light and hologram, letting his fingers and palm meet with Allura's.

With the light cut off, he met Allura's expression and gave her a soft smile. He was momentarily taken aback to note that she suddenly appeared surprised, her eyes falling to where their palms touched back to his face. An expression he hadn't seen before broke over her eyes and face.

"Allura, I..." Keith began but trailed off as he let his eyes fall to his lap. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have tampered with your memory port like that. It was wrong of me... I guess I'm not really like Shiro."

"Keith..."

Keith looked up, pulling his hand away from Allura's palm to see Pidge, Hunk, and Lance approach. Their helmets were removed, placed on their hips or held between their hands as they neared him. Keith hurriedly stood up and wiped his face.

"Oh, hey," he said, clearing his throat and ran a hand over his hair. He turned around, composing his face from the show of vulnerability he had been in earlier. "I...I'm, uh... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

Pidge suddenly rushed close, wrapping her arms around his chest and pulling him into a hug. Keith gasped, his eyes wide as he watched the younger girl hold him. Without much warning, Hunk and Lance also got in close, pulling them into a group hug. Keith let out a sharp breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. His lower lip trembled and he dropped his chin again, letting his head fall on Lance's shoulder as he wrapped an arm around Pidge and another over Hunk's waist.

For a quiet moment, the group held one another as Keith cried quietly. He heard them sniffle as they tightened their grip on him and they allowed their grief to unite them ever closer.

After a while, Lance let out a grunt and pulled away, wiping his face with his hand and covered it from view while Hunk openly sniffled, big tears pouring down his eyes. Pidge pulled away last and she was also red-faced and tear-stained despite the watery grin she gave him.

"We're a team now, Kogane," she said as they pulled away and stood in front of him. "I think I can speak for all of us—and for Matt, since he's not here for this little crying-fest—when I say that we're not going to let Zarkon get away with what he's done. Scholarships be damned."

"Yeah, and even if it takes us years, we'll still stick with you," Lance said brightly, rubbing his nose. "I mean, hopefully, it won't take years... but the point is, we're with you, buddy. 'Til the end of the line."

Keith looked at all of them, moved by their devotion and their sincerity. "...Thanks, guys."

Hunk grinned widely, "Yeah but, just to get it out of the way, maybe next time don't leave us behind on an isolated murder island filled with death robots, yeah?"

Keith let out a soft snort and smirked. "Sorry about that."

"It's cool, it's cool."

"Yeah, lucky we had an emergency radio on these helmets," Pidge said pointing at her helmet. "We were able to contact Lance's house and have helicopter show up."

"Yeah, I'm not going to charge you guys for that," Lance said. "So be glad because that bill would break your wallets, then you might actually need those scholarships for something."

Pidge jabbed an elbow into Lance's side and doubled over slightly but they were all still smiling so Keith allowed himself to chuckle.

"Alright then," he said and turned around, surprised when he saw Allura was still sitting on the ground and with her palm held up where he had left her. "Allura?"

She perked up. Keith grinned and extended his hand toward her.

"Let's take down Zarkon... the right way. Together."

And then she smiled at her, wide and beautiful and with that perfect golden touch that Shiro had left in her that no amount of tinkering the others had done could ever remove. She extended her palm and took his hand. With a hoist, Allura rose to her feet and nodded, their fingers intertwining.

"Together."

Lance let out a whoop of excitement, "Alright!! Team Voltron is on the move!!"

"Team...Voltron?" Hunk asked, head tilting in confusion.

"Yeah," Lance said with a grin. "We're a group of superheroes now, we need a sweet codename."

"Okay, but why Voltron?" Pidge asked with a snort.

"In honor of our first mission, of course! Didn't you hear Zarkon talking about this whole Project Voltron thing? It honestly sounds super cool and super poetic if we take that name for ourselves." Lance continued before whirling around majestically and pointing out into the night sky. "Watch out Zarkon, Team Voltron is coming for you!!"

Keith looked back into Allura's eyes as she looked back into his. He smiled at her and felt his heart give a little stutter when he felt her give his hand a warm squeeze.

Shiro is  _here._

* * *

  _End_


End file.
